12 Days Tour from Casablanca: Blue City, Sahara Camp and Essaouira

Your driver is waiting for you at Casablanca airport, and from here the journey is ours. If your flight allows, we begin at the Hassan II Mosque, built out over the ocean, and stroll a little of the Corniche. Then we follow the coast north to Rabat. The Hassan Tower, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the blue and white lanes of the Kasbah of the Udayas are all waiting there, with the river meeting the Atlantic below. You settle into your hotel for a quiet first evening. Overnight in Rabat, dinner included.

Today the land turns green and hilly. After breakfast we leave Rabat and drive north into the Rif Mountains, until Chefchaouen appears on the slope, its walls and doors painted in every shade of blue. You check in and spend the afternoon on foot, with no plan: the small craft shops, the alleys that all seem to lead back to Uta el-Hammam Square, and a mint tea on a terrace. Overnight in Chefchaouen, breakfast and dinner included.

There is no driving today, which is the point. Sleep in, have a long breakfast, and let the Blue City set the pace. You can visit the artisan workshops, watch weavers and woodworkers at their craft, or sit in a café and watch the town wake up. If you feel like moving, there are walks in the hills above the medina. Toward evening we climb to the Spanish Mosque viewpoint, where the whole town turns gold and then blue at sunset. Overnight in Chefchaouen, breakfast and dinner included.

After breakfast we say goodbye to the mountains and head south across rolling farmland. Our first stop is Volubilis, where Roman streets, arches and floor mosaics still stand in the open fields. We continue to Meknes, an imperial city of high walls and great gates. You see Bab Mansour and walk into the old centre before lunch. In the late afternoon we arrive in Fes. Overnight in Fes, breakfast and dinner included.

A local guide meets you after breakfast to lead you into Fes el-Bali, a maze of lanes that is hard to read without help. You walk through Bab Boujloud, visit the Bou Inania Madrasa, pass the area of Al Quaraouiyine and stop in the workshops of the craftsmen. The tour ends at the Chouara Tanneries, where leather is still dyed in stone vats. The afternoon is free for you to return to the souks, shop or rest. Overnight in Fes, breakfast and dinner included.

Today we leave the cities behind and head for the Sahara. The first hours climb through the Middle Atlas to Ifrane, a town of steep red roofs that looks more European than Moroccan, and on to the cedar forest near Azrou, where Barbary macaques wait by the road. We have lunch in Midelt, then the landscape opens and dries out. The Ziz Valley appears below, a long green river of palm trees, and after Erfoud the first golden dunes of Merzouga rise on the horizon. Overnight in Merzouga, breakfast and dinner included.

This whole day belongs to the desert. We start with a 4x4 drive around the dunes and the stony plains at their feet, and stop at Khamlia, a village where Gnawa music is part of daily life. After a lunch and a rest, we go into the high dunes of Erg Chebbi. You can ride a camel there or go by 4x4, and we stop for the sunset before reaching the camp. You sleep in a luxury tent. Dinner is served, music starts around the fire, and then the stars come out. Overnight in a luxury tent at the Sahara camp, breakfast and dinner included.

For those who want it, the best way to start this morning is on top of a dune, watching the light change over Erg Chebbi. After breakfast we leave the sand and drive to Rissani, an old market town on the edge of the desert, then west along the road to Tinghir. At the Todra Gorge the cliffs rise on both sides of the river, and you can walk the canyon floor. In the afternoon the road follows the Dades Valley, past palm groves, villages and rock formations, to our hotel for the night. Overnight in the Dades Valley, breakfast and dinner included.

A long drive with many stops along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs. We pass through the Rose Valley, where villages grow roses and make rose products, and through the palm oasis of Skoura, and reach Ouarzazate, known for its film studios. Next is Ait Benhaddou, a village of earthen towers that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and you have time to walk up through it. Late in the day we cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka road, with viewpoints on the way, and arrive in Marrakech in the evening. Overnight in Marrakech, breakfast and dinner included.

After breakfast a local guide shows you the Red City. You visit the Bahia Palace, pass the Koutoubia area and walk through the old medina and the souks, where spices, lanterns and carpets are laid out in the open. The afternoon is free, so you can go back to your favourite corner or book a hammam. In the evening Jemaa el-Fna turns into one big open-air restaurant, with smoke, music and storytellers. Overnight in Marrakech, breakfast and dinner included.

We leave the red walls behind and drive west toward the Atlantic. Essaouira is a calmer place, with a white and blue medina, ramparts facing the sea and a working fishing port. You can walk the ramparts, browse the craft shops, take a long beach walk or eat fresh fish in the harbour. It is a gentle end to a journey of many different landscapes. Overnight in Essaouira, breakfast and dinner included.

After breakfast you have a last slow morning by the sea. Then we drive back to Marrakech, and our driver takes you to Marrakech Menara Airport in time for your flight. If you fly out of Casablanca instead, we can drive you from Essaouira straight to Mohammed V International Airport. Just tell us your flight time when you book. Your 12 days end here, after the imperial cities, the Blue City, the Sahara, the kasbahs and the Atlantic coast. Breakfast included.